


The Stolen Sharpshooter

by SaberStar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cussing, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Keith is gay and scared, Lotor is pretty, M/M, Mutual Pining, Physical Abuse, Pining, Regret, Straddling but nothing more, Threats of Violence, Violence, traumatic events
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-05 14:59:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11580438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaberStar/pseuds/SaberStar
Summary: “HELP! Guys holy shIT! Something is p-pulling me b-b-back. AAAAHHHHHH!”Everyone froze; they had no idea what was happening. When they looked back and saw Lance being pulled towards the ship by a giant laser, nobody knew what to do. It was only when Keith went full speed towards Lance that everyone else began to move as well, shouting profanities the whole time.[In which Lance is captured by Lotor, and the paladins must work together to save him.]





	1. Gay and Scared

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is mostly just battle. It might be stressful, but do not worry
> 
> For some reason I really like it when Lance is in pain, or he needs help. I also love it when Keith is stressed. 
> 
> I'm a bad person...
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

They were ready for this. When the giant Galran ship appeared next to the castle, they knew what to do. All pilots went straight to their lions, and were prepared for battle in record time. The fight against the Galra empire had gone on for far too long, and each paladin was ready to just go home. The weeks they originally spent together turned into months, and months turned into two and a half years spent in space fighting an incredibly annoying alien race. The team grew closer to the point where they didn’t have petty rivalries, and they were truly comfortable with each other. They also had a plan that would allow them victory.

The plan was to attack the castle’s defences with the individual lions. This would be hard to manage while fighting off smaller ships attacking them, and it would also leave them exhausted, but it was the only way to give them a chance. Once there’s an opening, the team would form Voltron, and proceed to attack the castle directly. If this worked well enough, they would kill Lotor while still keeping Voltron formed, but there would be a chance that a paladin needed to board the ship and kill Lotor him/herself. It was slightly risky, but each pilot knew what to do and none of them had ever been this focused in their lives.

“Okay team, let’s do this.” Shiro’s words echoed in each of their minds as they flew the lions out of the castle.

It wasn’t surprising to see the red lion being the first to attack, with each lion following its’ actions. As they grew closer as a team, each member was starting to understand each other better, so seeing Keith lead an attack rather than Shiro didn’t surprise any of them. He was just that kind of guy. Each paladin was speeding through the the battlefield, destroying ships left and right. They all trusted each other and had each other’s backs when it was needed. 

The battle may have been intense, but that didn’t stop the pilots from calling out witty comments at each other, especially Lance. 

“I wonder what roasted Galra tastes like.”

“Lance, that’s disgusting.”

“Keith, you’re only saying that because you are part Galra.”

“Exactly, you’d basically be eating a cat/human/alien thing!”

“Well when you put it that way I sound stupid…”

“You’re always stupid.”

“Shut your quiznak!”

“I still don’t think you understand how to use that word correc-”

“GUYS CAN I GET SOME HELP?”

“Oh shit Hunk? I got you buddy.” The blue lion raced to the yellow lion’s side, and helped defeat a fairly large fleet that was attacking in that area. Once that was done, both lions raced back to where everyone else was fighting.

 

“Good work Lance.”

“Thanks Shiro. It’s just my job keeping everyone safe ya know? I’m just so impressive all the time.”

“Maybe if you didn’t flirt with Keith mid-battle, you would be better at your job.”

“Pidge! What the fuck are you talking about?”

Before the female paladin could answer, another fleet came out. The lions flew in together, blasting each ship into pieces. The witty comments back and forth had stopped momentarily as each pilot focused all their attention into fighting. Allura was shouting out orders from the castle while Shiro was giving words of encouragement to each paladin.

“How many ships are there?” The fact that Keith was asking how much more he had to fight meant that he must have been really tired. Keith had always been the one to do more than everyone else. He trained constantly, boosting his stamina, and he loved fighting. He almost never asked how much more did he need to take. 

“There can’t be much more. The ship isn’t big enough for that many fleets.”

“Thank you Coran.” Shiro sounded tired too. “Allura, does this mean we should form Voltron?”

“Not yet.” There was a pause and it was clear Allura was still considering if her plan was reasonable. Thankfully it only took her a few seconds. “Attack the ship directly with your lions for now. We need to see if they have any other smaller ships that might distract us.”

Her plan made sense, and there were no objections, but Lance was still uncertain about it. This would basically allow Lotor to take his time in deciding what his next move was. We should form Voltron right now, was all Lance could think. He shook that idea from his head, knowing that nobody would listen to him, and he was probably wrong anyway.

“Hunk and Pidge, attack the left wing. Lance and Keith, attack the right wing. I’ll attack the center. Everyone agree?

There was a collective “Yep” from the paladins, and they were back in action. They were also bickering.

“Lance we need to go in together. Stop going faster than me.”

 

Lance let out a little chuckle. “Aw Keith, you just always wanna be with me.”

“Sh-shut up.” Keith could feel a blush quickly rising to his cheeks. What Lance said was true, but Keith would die before admit how much he really cared for the blue-eyed paladin. 

Pidge on the other hand was cracking up at the stupid boys. How could two people that have been pining for the past two and a half years, not notice how much they love each other? She silently wished that her love life wouldn’t be this complicated. 

“Pidge, get that side.” Pidge was brought back to reality where she realized that she was flying only a few feet away from Hunk.

“Oh, sorry man.”

“Is everyone doing okay? Nobody passed out yet, right?” 

“Not yet Shiro, but I’m pretty tired from all those fleets,” said Keith.

Shiro spoke up, “we all are,” and that was then end of the conversation.

They continued to destroy parts everything, leaving the ship’s lights to slowly go out bit by bit. This didn’t leave the ship defenceless, but the lions were still not being attacked. It made Keith uncomfortable that Lotor was just letting them do whatever they wanted. There was something wrong with this picture, but nobody questioned the situation. 

“Well, this is easy.”

“Lance, stop being so cocky.”

“Keith, why are you always pulling me back.”

“I just want you to be safe, gosh.”

“Ya know, I hate that about you. Sometimes you’re just so annoying. Let me live my life, having fun. I don’t need you bossing me around thinking you’re so smart when you really aren’t.”

“I-” Keith’s words were cut off by Allura.

“Paladins, it appears that they aren’t able to fight back. I think it’s time to form Voltron.” Allura’s voice was confident. She wanted more than anything for the fight to be over soon, and she felt strongly that her plan of attack would work.

Shiro spoke up, “You heard her, team. We got this.” 

The lions began flying into formation. After doing this so many times, forming Voltron felt like second nature. The plan was simple here on out, and everyone was confident that after today, the Galra empire could finally be defeated. That confidence quickly drained when they heard Lance yelling in a terrifying manner.

“HELP! Guys holy shIT! Something is p-pulling me b-b-back. AAAAHHHHHH!” 

Everyone froze; they had no idea what was happening. When they looked back and saw Lance being pulled towards the ship by a giant laser, nobody knew what to do. It was only when Keith went full speed towards Lance that everyone else began to move as well, shouting profanities the whole time.

“Guys, I can’t stop it. It’s like, draining my strength. I... I…” Lance stopped talking.

The blue lion was taken into the ship. Keith tried to make it through the opening, but he was just too slow. Before they could do anything else, the giant ship teleported to another spot in the universe, and the four remaining lions just stayed in place, motionless. Keith didn’t even know what to think, what to do. He felt numb. Every paladin was quiet until Hunk broke that silence with a loud sob.

Lance was gone.

This wasn’t good.


	2. protec an attac

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins are freaking out while trying to create a plan. Meanwhile, Lotor is basically torturing Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.. I kinda made Allura a giant ass in the chapter. I'm so sorry. I don't have anything against Allura and I don't think she would actually act like this in any situation, but I really needed a way for her character to have some development.
> 
> Also, Keith goes from 0 to 100 real quick.
> 
> Enjoy ;)

Keith was pacing back and forth. 

The paladins had raced to the castle and were now staring at each other anxiously. Except for Keith.

Keith couldn’t stand still. His mind was going a million miles per hour in every direction. His arms were shaking. Even his skin was paling throughout his body. The sweat that drenched him made Keith look like he had just taken a shower. It was almost as if he was sick. None of the paladins had seen him look this distraught, which was terrifying.

Nobody even dared to speak. They didn’t even know what happened, and talking about it would only lead to more confusion and stress. It was only when Keith grabbed Allura with one hand and started screaming that the silence broke. 

“We have to go after him! What are we waiting for?!” The emotion in his voice was enough to make someone cry. Shiro wanted to stop him, but he knew there would be no point. Keith wouldn’t be able to calm down at a time like this. His grip started tightening. “HE’S OUR SHARPSHOOTER! WE AREN’T JUST GONNA LEAVE HIM THERE!”

Pidge reached for Keith’s shoulder, but he swatted it away and went back to pacing the room. Hunk hadn’t stopped crying, and nobody could blame him after his best friend was literally snatched by Prince Lotor. Keith also wanted to cry, but he was too determined for that. All he wanted to do was get back into his lion and fly to his friend. The emotions inside of him were twisting every which way.

 

“Keith, we’re going to get him back.” Shiro had finally found his voice, thank god. 

“Then let’s go.”

Pidge spoke up, “We can’t just go in now, guns blazing. We need a plan, especially if we only have four lions.”

Keith wanted to punch something, someone. For all he knew, Lance was dead. It could be for the best though. Lance did say that he thought Keith was annoying. Maybe he didn’t mean it. No matter what, Keith wanted to save Lance, but maybe Lance really hated Keith. Maybe Shiro should save him instead. Wait, he didn’t want Lance to be hurt. Why was he thinking this? It didn’t matter who would save Lance, as long as he got back to them, Keith didn’t care. There was still that voice in the back of his head saying that Lance would rather die than be near Keith anymore, but he could ignore that for now. 

The silence was broken when a panicked voice entered the room. Coran sprinted towards them, and Keith had never seen the man go that fast. He must be worried.

“Is everyone okay?” Nobody really responded, they just stared at Coran with sad eyes. When he spoke up again, everybody’s heart broke just a little more. “Where’s Lance?”  
Shiro took a step towards him and grabbed his shoulder. This seemed to be enough of an answer for Coran. Without hesitation, he started crying. None of the paladins had ever seen Coran cry before, and it was such an odd sight to see the normally cheery man look so miserable. It never occurred to them how much Lance meant to him. Apparently they were closer than everyone thought.

“He… he was like a son to me,” he said, voice breaking at each syllable. 

Keith was fuming. He was mad at himself for being too slow, but he was also mad at Allura for obviously not caring that Coran was on the ground sobbing. She had a completely blank face. What the hell?

“That’s it, I’m going to get him.”

“Hunk you might get trapped along with him if you go alone.” Allura’s voice didn’t waver.

“Can’t we just go now as a group?”

“Pidge, they’ll be expecting that.” Allura didn’t even look interested in the other people surrounding her. She was in her own mind. Possibly thinking of a plan, but who even knows with her. Her attitude was making Keith furious.

“If only I got there a few seconds earlier. I could have gotten him out of the stupid laser, and everything would have been fine. I just want Lance back.”

“Don’t worry paladins.”Allura looked as though she came up with a plan. She stared back at the group with wide eyes. “We will find the ship, rest up on our way there, then just board the ship in a sneaky fashion, grab the blue lion, and get out. Oh, we should probably find Lance too. He is the pilot, but our priority is the lion. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if we needed to get a replacement.” Everyone looked at her as though she had just offered up the idea of committing mass genocide. Keith fucking exploded.

“What the fUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?! Our priority isn’t just getting your shitty lion back, it’s to get back to our fellow paladin! OUR FRIEND! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT YOU BITCH!” He began charging at Allura, when Shiro blocked him. They might have all been extremely mad at what Allura said, but this was not the time for a fight.

Coran stood up sniffling but spoke with a strong voice. “Allura, I want you to take that back.”

“What do you mean? I may have been harsh, but I told the truth. Lance is a strong paladin and is a great member of our team. The blue lion is necessary; without it we can’t form Voltron. I think you can see which is more valuable.”

“Princess.”

“What?”

“Take it back.”

Allura looked around at the rest of the group. Hunk had gone back to sobbing. Pidge was shooting daggers at Allura with just a glare. Keith was on the brink of crying out of frustration. Even Shiro gave her a disappointed glance. It finally dawned on Allura how important Lance was to the team.

“Oh… I’m sorry.” She didn’t seem completely sympathetic, but it was just enough for everyone to calm down slightly. “I just assumed you all thought he was annoying. You also treated him as though he wasn’t as important. I thought that not being able to recover him wouldn’t be that bad. I guess I was wrong.”

Keith was still ready to fight her, but Shiro wouldn’t let go. That was just the type of person Keith was. He was emotional. He was scared. And he would fight anyone that talked shit about him or the people he cared about. He didn’t really have a family to fight for, but ever since meeting Lance and becoming a paladin, Keith found what what he wanted to protect. They may have been rivals at some point, and gone through many different stages of “friendship”, but the whole time, Keith never felt anything less than love. It may have been unhealthy to maintain a “one-sided relationship” for so long, that didn’t change he feelings though. He cared about Lance, more than anything else, and he was going to get him back no matter what. Even if Lance currently hated him for some reason. 

“What if we did what Allura said, but this time, making Lance a priority?” Shiro may have sounded calm, but he was visibly shaking. He looked around the circle and saw all the nodding heads. “Okay then, everyone go get something to eat. I’m assuming you won’t be able to sleep. Just make sure you aren’t as exhausted when we break into the castle.” He whipped his head around to Allura, and gave the most dad look that ever appeared on his face. “You are going to fly us to the ship, get in my lion, then fight alongside us.”

“But Shiro, I can’t. I need to man the ship. Who is gonna protect you guys in bat-”

“You can and you will. This might be our only chance to get Lance and the blue lion back, and there is no way you are allowed to stay safe in the castle after you said such shitty things about your friend. We’re working together here. You need to fight for his sake.” His breathing was heavy by the end of his spiel. Allura didn’t utter another word, only walked over to her command station and began looking for the Galran ship.

Slowly, everyone was starting to leave the room. They were incredibly shaken up about everything that just happened. Pidge and Hunk went to go get something to eat. Shiro went to go take a shower. Coran went to do god knows what. That left Keith in the room with Allura all alone. 

He never really trusted her. Allura was just too intense sometimes, and other times she seemed to not care at all. She always said the wrong things. She didn’t even look at Keith when she learned he was part Galra, and now she was bashing on Lance. She obviously didn’t notice how much effort he had begun putting into training. Maybe Keith was the only one who paid attention to Lance when he was fighting. It totally wasn’t because that was a great opportunity to watch Lance without him noticing. It also wasn’t because Lance would sometimes get so sweaty that he had to peel off his shirt, which made Keith practically choke. If anybody even questioned Keith about that, he would deny it wholeheartedly.

“Allura,” she didn’t even turn around before Keith could say, “I hope you understand how important Lance is.” Keith should stop talking before he embarrasses himself, but he never can when talking about the person he cares so deeply for. “Lance is an amazing sharpshooter. He’s also become great when it comes to fighting with the sword. He’s passionate about this team. He cares about each and every one of us. Sometimes it’s hard for him to express those feelings, but I can see that they’re there. He’s not just some fuckboy that flirts with everything and gets lucky sometimes. I’m also not sorry for snapping at you earlier. What you said was practically unforgivable and I honestly don’t know if I can ever look at you the same again. That being said, we’re going to Lotor to get Lance and the blue lion back, and you are going to tell him that you care about him.” 

Keith stomped out before any response could come. He didn’t really care what she had to say. He didn’t care if what he said may or may not have been true. Keith thought Lance cared about everyone on the team, but he wasn’t so sure anymore. For all he knew, Lance really did hate him. Keith couldn’t care about how Lance felt right now though.

All he wanted was Lance back.

\----------------------------

Lance could hear footsteps coming towards him from the hallway. The lights were off, leaving him completely blind. He was currently tied to a pole in the middle of a room, surrounded by bloodied torture devices. The air around him was warm, but Lance was breaking out in a cold sweat. The last time Lotor came to see him, Lance had been gifted with a broken rib, bruised kneecaps, a sprained wrist, slits down his legs, and random gashes covering his body that were still dripping blood. He had only been in Lotor’s possession for a few hours, but it felt like years of pain and suffering.

The door slid open and lights turned on to reveal the toothy grin of Lotor, himself. The first time Lance had seen Lotor, he had silently admitted to himself that the man didn’t look half bad, but he possessed a horribly sadistic personality. Lotor knew this, and ended up torturing Lance in the most sensual way possible. It was disgusting and even made Lance throw up a few times.

“Hey babe, are you finally gonna tell me what I want to know?”

Lance didn’t dare speak, although nickname did make him gag. One word out of him meant that he was weak, and he would never allow Voltron’s image to be so low.

“Aww baaaabe. Why don’t you say something?” He grabbed a hammer, then took a few more steps towards Lance. “All I want to know is Voltron’s biggest weakness. Tell me, and you live.”

Lance just sat there, staring straight ahead, trying to prevent himself from hyperventilating. Being so close to Lotor was beginning to give him a panic attack, but he would suppress it for as long as he needed. Fear was bubbling up inside of him, forcing him to twitch uncontrollably as Lotor came near.

“Oh? You aren’t… talking?”

Without any hesitation, Lotor swung the hammer with full force at Lance and completely shattered his ankle. Pain surged throughout Lance’s body, but it didn’t stop there. The Prince decided to kick Lance in his already broken rib, then slap him in the face repeatedly. He gripped the hammer harder, and smashed it against Lance’s hand, making it go limp. 

Lance was screaming louder than he had ever screamed in his life. He had no shame in this. He would feel shame in crying though. Something about a man crying made him feel like it would only fuel Lotor’s strength. Lance put every last ounce of willpower into not shedding a tear. He could scream all he wanted, but he would never show any more weakness than that. He could cry later, when he was all alone.

Lance could feel the blue lion sobbing in his ear. He wanted to call back to his lion, explaining that everything would be okay. Unfortunately, all the strength in Lance’s body was gone. Even though he and his blue lion had a strong connection, there was no way Lance could call out to it. Even if he could tell it something, he wasn’t positive that his words would be assuring.

Lotor managed to rip open some of Lance’s previously healing wounds. He rubbed his hands against the blood that poured out and proceeded to skip around with it covering him. Lance was about to pass out, but all of the sudden there was a large wait that had been put on his crotch. When he opened his eyes, he was face to face with Lotor, who was currently straddling the young paladin.

“Did you like that babe?” Lance just stared wide-eyed at the chaotic man. “I know you did… y’know, you’re actually really pretty like this. I think that’s why I’m getting turned on.” Lotor’s voice was at a whisper.

Lance just stopped breathing. What was wrong with this man. Lance could handle torture, he could handle pain; he was not new to the feeling of pain especially when he was in a hopelessly one-sided relationship with a certain red paladin. He had no idea how to handle potential rape though. Would Lotor actually go that far? There’s no fucking way.

“Don’t you think I’m pretty, too? If you just tell me Voltron’s biggest weakness I could let you out of these chains, and keep you as my pet. Of course you have to stay with me at all times, but I wouldn’t mind it. Especially if I got to do doing certain things to you.”

This was a bit far even for Lotor, but Lance was beginning to understand the game he was playing. Lotor wouldn’t fuck him, right now at least. All he wanted for the moment was information, and he would do anything to get it out of Lance. Even if that meant lying and threatening him sexually. Lance figured out exactly what he needed to do.

Without hurting himself too much, he leaned forward. He could feel Lotor’s breath cascade across his skin, and he internally cringed at the feeling. It was hot and Lance was already planning on scrubbing himself after this experience. For now he had to continue with his little plan of fuckery. Lance’s eyes teased Lotor by shooting fast glances down at his lips, but he kept leaning forward until his mouth was centimeters from Lotor’s ear. He was tempted to nibble on it for effect, but this would be good enough. 

It seemed Lotor had let his guard down slightly, expecting him and Lance to make out suddenly, but he quickly became furious when Lance simply muttered, “go fuck yourself.”

The Prince rose from his position and gave a swift kick to the blue paladin’s face. He stomped out the door without another word, and left Lance alone again in the sad, dark room. 

He wanted to pass out and have this nightmare end, but apparently life wasn’t letting him off that easily. Without warning, all his memories of his last flight came to mind and he couldn’t help but feel a churning in his stomach. If only he was stronger, he could have escaped. If only he was faster, he could have helped more. The worst part about his memories popped up when he was reminded of the last thing he ever said to Keith. Holy shit he was an awful human being.

He told Keith that he was being annoying, bossy, and unintelligent. Lance didn’t mean any of that, it was more of a joke. Those words were so mean, yet none of it was true. It was his biggest regret at the moment, and he’d rather have Lotor kill him right now than live another minute knowing that he might have hurt Keith. Lance fucked up. His bones may be shattered, and he may be bleeding out onto the floor, but that pain didn’t affect him anymore. It was the pain in his heart that cut deep and left him hysterically sobbing. 

Lance wanted to see his team again. He wanted to joke around with Hunk. He wanted to get “insulted” by Pidge. He wanted to get small praise from Shiro. He wanted to get scolded by Allura. He wanted to have fun hanging out with Coran. He wanted to just be near Keith and reassure him that he never meant the cruel words that escaped his mouth.

All he wanted was to be back with his team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was fun...
> 
> Again, I'm sorry for adding all the angst to the characters. I just wanted to see what would happen.
> 
> The next chapter will be happier I promise, and I'll work on adding more detail.
> 
> I was also listening to the Le Miserables soundtrack while writing this, and during one of my breaks I starting listening to the Heather's soundtrack. It's honestly really good!
> 
> Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed and I'll try to write and get up the last chapter within the next couple of days.
> 
> I always love feedback <3


	3. the happy ending we all deserved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As both of them turned, Shiro’s voice called out to Keith again, “We’ll get him.” That was all that he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter came out so late, I've just been really busy these past couple days. 
> 
> I'm also not completely happy with this chapter. To me it seems rushed, but I really just wanted to get it out today.
> 
> I would also really like you're input :))

Keith couldn’t stand still. 

He was currently pacing throughout the castle, searching for something that could occupy his mind and distract him from whatever situation Lance might be in right now. If he could change places with Lance, Keith wouldn’t hesitate. That boy doesn’t realize it but he’s done things to Keith’s mind and body that should be illegal. 

Keith was walking in the direction of the control room. Hope had risen inside of him when he saw Shiro and Coran standing with Allura, probably working on the plan that would save Lance. Keith didn’t always like putting his faith in others. In fact, it made him extremely uncomfortable. Being part of a team like Voltron has changed his views on this matter slightly, but he would always feel better if he had the free will of doing anything he wanted without others being at risk along with him.

Over time Keith also felt that he was putting too much faith in others, and making them do all the work for him. It was almost as if he was becoming less competent when it came to battling on his own. Before he was part of Voltron, he would have had the confidence to do everything by himself: just him and his sword. Now, his confidence was coming from his belief that it would be impossible to get hurt with Lance right behind him. It was wrong. Keith felt as though he should be more in charge of his actions, but part of him knew that this would just lead him to self destruction. He needed to depend on both his team and himself, it was just hard sometimes. 

It had been a few minutes before Shiro noticed someone entered the room, and Keith could see just how tired his leader was. It was common knowledge that Shiro barely got any sleep, but at this point he looked torn apart. Hair a mess, dark under-eye circles, a large frown, and even his shoulders were drooping. He definitely didn’t get rest. 

“Have you found anything yet?” His voice came out weak, and Keith silently cursed himself for sounding weak in a time where he needed to be stronger. He had to be stronger… for Lance. 

“We know where the ship is, and we’ll be there soon,” Shiro paused, noting that even his own voices sounded dead. “I would appreciate it if you found the other paladins and told them to get ready.”

“No problem.”

As both of them turned, Shiro’s voice called out to Keith again, “We’ll get him.” That was all that he needed.

The two other paladins were still in the kitchen when Keith found them. They seemed to be having a deep conversation, something to do with what would happen when went back to Earth. When Keith walked in they stared at him with sad eyes, and his heart broke a little bit more when he saw that Hunk’s were still red and puffy. 

As they changed and walked back to the control room, each paladin was silent. Talking seemed wrong. Lance was always the one to initiate most conversations. With him gone, all their words just seemed empty. 

Somehow, Shiro had found the time to change into his armor by the time that the other paladins had walked in. Knowing that he had something to say, everyone waited anxiously for Shiro to give his annual speech that he always gave before missions. Keith wondered for a moment if Shiro might break the tradition because Lance wasn’t here. Everything just seemed hollow when he wasn’t here. 

Shiro finally looked at them, a mix of sorrow and determination filling his eyes. “Paladins. Today we aren’t fighting for whole planets, civilizations, or the galaxy. Today we are fighting for our team, our family. Lance means a lot to all of us,” he gave a quick sideways glance to Allura who just happened to not be making eye contact with anybody else in the room, “I know we all want him back, so we’re going to have to work together. We are going to have to put faith in each other to save a friend that we all love.”

Nowhere in the speech did Shiro mention the blue lion. Keith knew that the mission wasn’t all about Lance, and they actually needed the lion especially if they wanted to form Voltron again, but it made him happy that Shiro didn’t feel the need to explain what the lion meant to them. It was Lance that they couldn’t really live without.

They had refined the plan enough and decided to have Pidge drop Keith, Shiro, and Allura off at the ship, then she would meet up with Hunk outside to fight off the fleets that were bound to attack them. It was a possibility that Lotor couldn’t have gotten more fighter ships, but they didn’t want to take any chances. Keith would search the castle for Lance. Shiro and Allura would cover him, fighting off soldiers from behind. Everything seemed so simple, but there were also so many things that could go wrong.

Keith tried his best not to think about all that might happen, but that didn’t prevent his anxiety to take over. ‘What if Hunk and Pidge get into trouble outside the ship? What if Shiro and Allura can’t fight off all the soldiers? What if they couldn’t find the blue lion? What if they couldn’t find Lance? What if Lance was dead?’

He shook his head at that last thought. Lance wouldn’t just die on him. He was stronger than that, and Keith would kill him if Lance died.

Hunk gave a small wave before stepping into his lion. Nobody questions that fact that Hunk looks like he might pass out from panic, they can understand what he’s going through.

Stepping into the green lion shouldn’t feel weird to Keith, but he can’t help but feel that there is a different energy. It’s not exactly cheery, or stressful, or anything. It almost fills him with a sense of empowerment, as if the green lion is trying to assure the paladins everything will be okay by giving them mental strength. It’s foreign to Keith, not bad, just different. Red would always make him feel confidence, but it seemed more blinding than this. Part of him wonders if it’s his lion that’s to blame for him always flying into situations without thinking. He couldn’t think about that now though. He needed to think about the mission.

He needed to think about Lance.

“How are you doing paladins?” It was Coran’s voice. He had to stay in the castle for safety reasons, and also to direct the paladins around the Galran ship.

“We’re doing fine.” The silence was deafening, but everyone seemed too deep in thought to really care. The moment of peace was over when the giant ship came into view. “Coran, we can see the ship. It’s time.”

“You know what to do paladins. Good luck, and please be careful.” He seemed to want to say so much more. They never really talked to the man, but he must have had so much on his mind. “Bring our boy back.”

At his response, Keith tensed up. Lance meant so much to all of them, and it took up until now for Keith to realise just how much they all needed the other boy. He didn’t have a home, but to Keith, Lance was just that.

Once the ship came into view, Keith’s blood began to boil. Voltron had been fighting the Galra for so long. The whole universe was suffering, and that could end if Lotor was just dead. This fight should be over already.

As the team gets closer, Keith notices a fleet of ships coming towards them. It hadn’t even been a full day, yet Lotor had somehow found a way of building back up his army. Hunk and Pidge would have their work cut out for them, then.

At first they weren’t completely sure how to get inside. There weren’t exactly any openings. 

“Hey guys, what if I just smash into the side of the ship?”

“Hunk, that… actually might work.” Pidge was usually very disappointed in other people’s ideas so it came as a shock to everyone when she actually agreed with Hunk’s plan without a second thought. “It will probably draw attention to us, but we don’t have many options.”

Hunk immediately rammed his lion into the side of the ship, leaving a gaping hole. Pidge proceeded to let her teammates out of her lion so that she could go fight.

“We just need to go fast.”

“Thanks for stating the obvious, Shiro.”

“Keith, I don’t need this sass coming from you.” They started to jog around the hallways, looking for where Lance was held, but Shiro apparently didn’t finish what he had to say. “We’re gonna get your boyfriend back.”

Keith became a bright shade of red. “He’s NOT my boyfriend. Why would you say that.”

“Because you want him to be your boyfriend.”

“What? N-no, of course not! He’s just a great friend gosh… Honestly Shiro I think you’re conf-”

“We should be focusing on the mission at hand.”

“Sorry Allura.”

They continued on, running through the halls of the castle until they stumbled upon a large hanger. In the center of the room held the blue lion. Keith was obviously very excited, but they hadn’t finished the mission yet. Along with the hangar holding the blue lion, it also held a few guards that started to attack them.

“Keith, keep running and find Lance.”

“Are you sure?” The soldiers began coming from behind them as well. “I feel like I should fight with you.”

“Keith, get Lance back!” Allura shouted. Keith didn’t hesitate to run forward after that, but he was still a bit surprised to see Allura so insistent on rescuing Lance. It was only a few hours ago that she was spouting nonsense about how useless he is, but Keith wasn’t complaining at how much she changed in the short amount of time.

The hallways seemed endless, and fatigue began to take over Keith’s legs. He wouldn’t stop, no matter what, but that didn’t prevent him from yearning to sit down somewhere and rest. Lance wouldn’t do that though. Lance was strong, and he would keep running no matter what. Keith had to reach him somehow.

On his way to wherever Lance was, he came across a multitude of Galra soldiers that seemed to be the worst fighters in existence. Maybe Keith had just improved when it came to fighting, but he had to credit that to Lance. Every time Keith “stalked” Lance while he was training, Keith would somehow feel confidence that would make him work harder when he got the chance to train. Lance always worked really hard. Keith wanted to be like him.

Without realising it, Keith ended up in a hallway that was different compared to the rest of the ship. It was on a lower level, and all the lights appeared to be dark purple. As Keith approached the room at the end of the hall, he heard it. Screaming. Lance’s screaming. Keith was about to bust through the door when he heard another familiar voice coming from inside. 

Lotor.

Lotor was inside doing something to Lance, and Keith was just about ready to lose his shit again. Nobody was allowed to hurt his bo….friend. His friend. He’ll blame that little slip up on Shiro giving him weird ideas.

The sight before him when Keith opened the door, made him want to throw up. Lotor was holding multiple knives while straddling Lance. Lance on the other hand was practically naked, covered in blood, and on the verge of death. There was a moment where Keith had to process the situation. He wanted to fight Lotor with a level head, but the sight in front of him made Keith bubble up with anger, and run towards Lotor like a screeching madman.

Keith tackled Lotor to the ground and just began punching. There was no finesse to his fighting, just anger, hate, and disgust for the man below him. All his feeling were put into those punches, and the only relief came when he felt the crunching of Lotor’s nose under Keith’s fist. Keith didn’t know he was this much of an animal, but seeing Lance in such an awful state while being STRADDLED by this son of a bitch left him no choice.

Lotor found the strength to push Keith off of him, and drew up his blades. He attempted to thrust one into Keith’s chest, but the latter was too fast and swiftly dodged the attack.

“I see you came to save your fellow paladin. I can’t believe you let him suffer this long. Just look at him.”

There was no way Keith could look at him. It made him feel even more guilty, like he wasn’t worthy of all the praise, happiness, and even Lance. He felt like it was his fault that Lance looked on the verge of death. There was also a part of him that led him to hope Lance was fine. Lance wasn’t unconscious on the floor. But if Keith looked, all that hope would be out the window.

“Shut the fuck up!” That was all he could think to say before charging again, this time Lotor being the one that dodged the attack.

“He really is a cute one. I’m actually quite mad that you came right now of all times. If only you had waited another few minutes then I would done with him if you know what I me-”

Keith cut him off with a stab to the left shoulder. He was hoping that Lotor hadn’t done anything that disgusting to Lance, but no matter what he was going to kill this man. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Are you telling me that you wouldn’t like to do anything to this young man lying on the floor over here?”

“This is my friend you fucking pervert!” Keith was screaming. He may have wanted to do “things” to Lance, but now wasn’t the time or place where he could even try to think about such things.

All the commotion around him made Lance wake up. Keith and Lotor didn’t even notice what was happening, they were to focused on attempting to stab each other. Their attempts were futile, being that they just dodged each other’s attacks though. 

When Lance was fully able to comprehend that Keith was actually in the room, fighting Lotor, his whole body sprang into action. “Keith,” he shouted with as much volume as he could muster, “Holy fuck why are you here?”

Keith was definitely shocked when Lance awoke, but he didn’t stop to ponder this. Instead, he reached forward and slashed his blade across Lotor’s chest. The other man stumbled back but didn’t fall to his feet. “Why do you think I’m here idiot?”

A response didn’t come from Lance. He was too in startled to even answer Keith’s question. 

Keith.

Was here with him.

Saving him.

After all the awful things Lance said.

This had to be a dream.

Keith continued to slash wildly at his opponent, oddly enough, not getting a single scratch on him. He was flustered with the whole situation, but he still knew how to fight. Lotor was also bigger than him, so that made it easier for Keith to slide around him, dodging attack after attack. The only hit Lotor was able to get on Keith was a bash to his head with the back of his blade.

With a final kick to the stomach, Lotor flew backwards, hitting his head on a wall on the way down. Keith was about to run towards him, slashing the sword through Lotor’s stomach, leaving him to die in this room of torture. His actions were stopped when he saw Lance on the verge of passing out again. He needed to get Lance out of here.

In one swift motion, Keith cut the rope that tied Lance to this spot. He used the rest of his strength and adrenaline to carry Lance, like a bride, out of the room. With one last look at Lotor who was glued to his spot on the ground, Keith walked out the door. 

Running wasn’t exactly possible with such a heavy weight in his arms, but walking should be fine as long as he didn’t run into many soldiers on his way back to the blue lion.

As if on cue, Keith turned the corner and came face to face with Shiro and Allura. They looked relieved to see Keith alive, but that relief turned into horror when they took one look at Lance. He really did look on the verge of death, but that could be fixed later. 

“Are you guys almost done? We’ve obliterated all the fleets, and now we’re just waiting for you.”

It shocked Keith to hear Pidge’s voice so suddenly. They hadn’t been using the comms during this mission, out of fear of distraction. He didn’t even know how to respond. Were they done? Did they actually complete the mission? Keith didn’t know for sure.

“Keith has Lance, and we’re going back to the lion right now.”

“Oh thank god.” Hunk sounded like he was about to cry again. 

“I’m getting a pod ready for him. How bad are his injuries?”

“Umm, Coran?” Allura didn’t know how to describe the amount of healing Lance needed. If it weren’t for the sporadic rise and fall of his chest, she would have assumed that he was already dead. “Lance is in critical condition.”

That was when Hunk began sobbing, most likely terrified for his best friend. Keith couldn’t cry yet. He was too burdened with carrying a dying teenager in his arms while speed walking to the blue lion.

On their way, at least 30 soldiers attacked them. Shiro and Allura were able to take them down with ease. It seemed like they were running on adrenaline as well, so who knows how long it would last until they couldn’t do anymore. 

It was a huge relief to see the hangar in front of them. Beyond the doors, blue was waiting, and even opened her mouth when the paladins approached. They stepped in and Allura wasted no time sitting in the pilot’s seat. She flew blue directly at the hangar’s exit, and busted through the doors. It wasn’t very classy, but Keith didn’t really care. It only took a few more seconds before he was out cold.

\----------------

Keith had stumbled out of his healing pod about a week ago. During his fight with Lotor, he was given a bad concussion.

It was a long week with minimal rest for him. He wanted to sleep, eat, or just find a way to distract himself from how scared he was. Lance might be mad at him still, even after all that they went through. He just wanted to see Lance happy, alive, but the other boy was still in a healing pod due the fact that he was gifted with so many more injuries. 

Keith was sitting alone, outside said healing pod. His teammates would come in and out of the room, just checking in to see if anything had happened. Nothing ever did. It was usually just Keith staring at lance in his frozen state, just willing him to pop out. It was boring, but Keith just wanted to be with Lance when he woke up.

All of the sudden the healing pod opened and out came Lance. Keith didn’t hesitate to catch Lance in his arms, feeling like they had been in this position before.

“Oh my god Lance.” 

“Keith!”

There was no warning. Lance had wrapped his arms around Keith and squeezed with all the strength he had. Keith couldn’t help but do the same. It was a happy moment, so he had no idea why Lance started crying, and he definitely didn’t know why he was crying too.

“You fucking saved me.”

“Of course I did. How could I possibly leave you?” At this, Lance squeezed tighter. This didn’t feel real.

“I...I...I” he pulled back and stared directly into Keith’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. I was such *hic* an asshole. I-I didn’t mean anything I said to you when we were about to form Voltron. Gosh, I’m such an asshole. You proba-probably don’t forgive me. That’s okay. I-I just-”

“Oh shut up! I thought you hated me, idiot!”

“How the fuck could I hate you?”

“You said I was annoying!”

“That’s cause you’re so fucking oblivious!”

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

“I fucking love you!”

They both stopped. Keith didn’t really know how to respond. He wasn’t expecting a confession from Lance at all, especially not now. Before he even had the option to do anything though, Lance bolted out the door.

“Hey get back here asshole!” Keith started racing after Lance. 

Lance wasn’t able to get very far before Keith jumped on top of him and they both fell to the ground. He proceeded to hoist Lance up and firmly grab onto his wrists before he could escape again.

“Why did you run away?!”

“I wasn’t prepared for rejection!”

 

“Too bad, you’re gonna listen to me!”

“I don’t want you to leave me!”

“I’m not gonna leave you!”

“Yes you are, because you hate me now!”

“Lance, I fucking love you!”

“Wait, wha-”

 

Keith was kissing Lance. Lance stopped for a moment, unsure of what was really happening. Thankfully, his mind came back to him, and he began kissing back. It was sweet, and Keith just tasted right. This whole thing felt right. Both boys were still unsure of whether this was actually happening. They had both confessed, but it was hard to think that after harboring feelings for each other for so long led to each other having similar feelings. It was surprising, and for the time being, both forgot that they were literally in the middle of fighting a war against a crazy alien race. They were happy now, that was what mattered.

Kissing Lance just felt right.

Keith felt the same about Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fun. I'm not that sad that it's over with considering I have so many ideas with other things I want to write.
> 
> Also I'm so fucking hyped for season 3! I'm just counting down the days until August 4th.
> 
> I was listening to Herobust and Excision while writing this chapter (I highly suggest you listen to them if you like edm/dubstep... they're really good)
> 
> I was also hoping for some musical artist suggestions, or albums, or musicals.... im not picky. I just kinda want some different stuff to listen to while I write.
> 
> If I made any editing mistakes, I'm very sorry, I'm not good at this.
> 
> I also think I might write a cute one-shot next for Klance but who knows
> 
> Thank you soooo much for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Well that wasn't that bad... don't worry it will get worse 
> 
> I wrote this while listening to a bit of Hamilton (cause I'm trash) and some nightcore (because I'm really trash)...
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon :))) I'd also really love feedback!
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3


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